She shifted the view to the orientation that looked out over the outer regions of the sector. There was another group of vessels heading in toward the inhabited planet, on a shortest time to orbit profile. She switched to view and zoomed in, her breath catching as she saw the shapes of three battle cruisers, all hyper VIIs like Jean de Arc. And with them were two light cruisers.
That’s a powerful force, she thought, looking at what had to be a scout task force. Wonder what they’ve been up to? And I wonder what happened to Prince Sean. And my poor dumb cat.
It took Baron Pepperdine most of two days to come into orbit around the planet, and the scout force she had seen before had arrived six hours earlier, the ships in a compact group around the planet.
“We have orders for you, Captain Lei,” came the voice of Captain Sue over the intercom. “You are to report to the Sector Headquarters battle station as soon as possible.”
“Any reason given,” she asked, getting out of her seat and going to the closet of her stateroom, where some uniforms that the ship’s fabricators had made for her were hanging. She picked the dress uniform, complete with all her ribbons and decorations.
“None, Captain. But I suspect they want to hear about what happened to the heir first hand.”
Before they bust me for losing him, she thought, pulling on the boots that went with the uniform, then buckling on the dress belt and ceremonial mag pistol.
The shuttle was up on the hangar deck when she arrived, and lifted as soon as she was buckled in her seat. It was a short trip to the station that seemed to take forever, and gave her plenty of time to think about what she was heading into. The huge station, really a class one fort and a space dock in one, loomed in her viewer. The shuttle entered through a hatch large enough for a battleship, then across the huge bay to another hatch which led into a shuttle deck. There were ships all over the deck, shuttles, assault ships, even some fighters, but a space had been cleared for her shuttle right next to the station access hatch. A naval officer and a pair of Marines waited there, and the feeling that someone bad was going to happen grew.
“Captain Lei,” said the Naval officer, a full commander, giving her a salute. “If you would come with me.”
Like I have a choice, she thought, following the officer and one Marine through the hatch while the other armed trooper fell in behind. “Any word on the Heir?” she asked as they walked through the corridor to a lift.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that, ma’am,” said the Commander, a strange half smile on his face.
They turned a corner and there were more Marines, these in medium battle armor. A Lieutenant approached, a Sergeant close behind, and Mei thought she recognized them, but couldn’t place them.
“We need your side arm, ma’am,” said the Marine officer, holding out his hand.
The Captain pulled her weapon out of the holster, careful to move slow and making sure that she did not hold it like she was going to use it. She wondered what was going to happen once again. Disarming her was a sign that they didn’t want her to resist. The Marine was just about to take the weapon when he stopped, listening to something on his com, then dropped his hand. “You can keep the pistol, ma’am.”
Mei shrugged her shoulders and put the pistol back in its holster, snapping it shut. The door opened and the Marine Lieutenant waved her in. She looked back at the Naval Commander. The man shook his head and also gestured at the door, the half-smile still on his face.
The room was large and luxuriously appointed, with fine furniture and what looked like an original painting on the wall. An attractive young woman sat in a chair looking at her, wearing a civilian business suit of exquisite fabric, her straight posture indicating that she had once been military. She also had a half-smile on her face, and Mei wondered what it was about all of these people she had met since coming aboard.
Another chair in the room was facing the other way, its small rocking motion showing that it had an occupant. The far wall was a large viewer, looking down on the blue green planet below.
“You wished to see me, ma’am,” said Mei, finally tiring of the silence.
There was a familiar meow, then something small and fury came jumping over the top of the other seat and headed toward her. It rubbed against her ankle, then looked up and gave another meow.
“Satin,” cried Mei, bending down and picking up the big Himalayan cat. She pressed him to her chest, relishing the deep purr that vibrated from the cat, rubbing her nose in his soft fur and taking in his familiar scent. She looked at the woman, feeling confused, for this cat had been left with the heir. Which meant.
“Welcome back, Duchess,” said the familiar voice, as the chair spun around. The man she had been wondering about sat there in a dress naval uniform, jet black, the eight stars of an Emperor on his shoulder boards. “I hear you have an interesting story to tell as well. I am happy to see that you made it back. And Satin missed you.”
“I don’t know what to say, your majesty,” said the Captain, tears misting her eyes. She put the cat down and stood there.
“Samantha,” said Sean, talking to the seated woman. “Where are your manners? Show our guest to a chair.”
“Yes, cousin,” said the young woman, getting up from her chair as another rose up from the floor.
Mei sat back in the chair, and Satin was instantly in her lap. She stroked the cat while she stared at the young man she had given so much to get to safety, safe at last.
“Did MacArthur get you here, your majesty?” asked Mei, still staring at the young man. The young woman walked back from the bar and handed the Captain a drink, then resumed her own seat.
“No,” said Sean, his expression brightening. “Captain von Rittersdorf’s made it to Connundrum without me, I’m afraid. Another force came to our rescue, and she came back, with an escort. The escort didn’t make it back,” he said with a frown, “but McArthur did.”
“Thank God,” said Mei, bowing her head and closing her eyes for a moment, saying a quick prayer.
“Have you thought about what Duchy you would like to assume title too?” said Sean, the smile back on his face. “I know there hasn’t been a lot of time, and Samantha will provide you with the list of new or vacant Duchies. Yours to choose.”
“About that, your Majesty. I really don’t think that is necessary.”
“You need to learn to not argue with your Monarch,” said Sean, his smile broadening. “I have proclaimed you a Duchess on the official record, so a Duchess you will be. Next thing you know you’ll turn down the permanent Commodore rank you so deservedly earned.”
“Commodore,” said Mei, her mouth falling open at the end of the pronouncement.
“You are to lead a squadron of battle cruisers, a scout force for the Fleet,” said the Emperor, tossing a small box over the Mei. “I wanted to make you an admiral, but Grand Admiral Mganda thought that was advancing you too far, too fast. So commodore it is.”
Mei opened the box and found the two single stars of a commodore looking back at her. “I don’t know what to say, your Majesty.”
“Then say nothing and accept the rank.” The young man’s eyes assumed the faraway look of a link, then cleared. “Now, I have to go. I have an appointment at the capital. And you have to get ready for a pinning ceremony with the Sector Commander.”
Mei continued to nod, not having a clue as what she should say. The Emperor put a hand on her shoulder as he started to walk by. “Thank you so very much for all you did for me. And don’t worry. Your crew will be rewarded as well. Including your officers, some of whom would probably make a good flag team if you wanted them.”
Sean took away his hand and walked to the door, leaving the woman to become reacquainted with her pet, while he got ready to acquaint the rest of the Empire with its new ruler.
* * *
MASSADARA SYSTEM, APRIL 20TH, 1000.
Jana looked curiously at her surroundings as she was led aboard the shuttle. She knew something was up when th
ey gave her shipboard clothing of human size, cut to an archaic pattern. She was carrying a backpack that contained a light space suit and helmet, and was pretty sure that all had belonged to the unlamented Ben.
They walked through a hatch made for a Cacada, making it monstrously large to her perspective. She had wanted to ask what was going on, but had learned in the past weeks that it was better to not say a word and draw no attention to herself. She felt like a child in the chair as the shuttle took her over to the ship. Then it was through an oversized hangar and down more corridors to a lift. Everything on the ship was of a proportion to the Cacada, and she thought that in proportion to their crew the ships were no larger than the human equivalents.
She was very surprised when she was led onto what could only be the bridge of the ship. Every Cacada on deck turned to watch her with predatory eyes as she walked in, and she was reminded of a pride of lions watching a sick antelope, something she had seen on the veldt of her terraformed home world.
“You are to sit there, slave,” said the escort, pointing to a human sized seat in one of the eight corners of the bridge.
Jana nodded and made her way over, her eyes glancing this way and that, trying to take in everything. After she had placed herself in the couch she continued her perusal of the control room, noting that there were at least twenty of the aliens manning stations.
“For the Emperor,” yelled one of the males and everyone jumped to their feet as the Admiral came striding into the chamber. When Jana didn’t move a Cacada pointed a clawed finger at her. She came to her feet, fearful that she might be punished.
“The Fleet is ready to move,” said one of the males, standing before a station.
“Very well,” said the Admiral. “Tell the other ships to start jumping to hyper. We will stay in the predetermined formation to the target system.”
And what system is that, thought the woman, listening carefully.
“Slave,” said the Admiral, pointing at her, then falling into his seat. “Come here.”
Jane jumped to her feet and half ran to the Admiral’s seat, her eyes glancing at the plot that showed hundreds of green dots, maybe over a thousand. This is a major gathering of force, she thought, visualizing the destruction this kind of fleet could cause.
“You are now my liaison slave,” said the Admiral, giving her a cold look. “Since Ben was the only tame human I had with my force, you are his replacement.”
“I will not spy for you, my Lord,” said Jana, forcing herself to return the look.
“And I would not ask you to, slave. I do not trust you enough. More tame humans will come up with the reinforcements. But your knowledge may prove useful.”
The Admiral looked at the plot, where scores of dots were disappearing every few seconds. The familiar nausea struck Jane as the vessel she was on jumped into hyper, and the plot changed to show the ships already here.
Now that’s interesting, thought Gorbachev, as she watched the Cacada become nauseated and fight their way back to equilibrium. It took much longer than a normal human, and she wondered if there might be another advantage for the humans in that fact.
“I am glad that is over,” said the Admiral, his facial color starting to return. He looked at the plot, then at his human slave. “What can you tell me of the system called Conundrum?”
* * *
THE DONUT.
“Are you ready, Admiral?” asked Commander Zhen Yin, a fierce smile on her face as she looked at the mirrored surface of the wormhole.
“I guess,” replied Len, looking suspiciously at the gateway to another world.
“You came through the last one just fine,” said the Commander, looking at the people who had just come out of the wormhole from Conundrum. “They came through OK.”
“The last one was only sixty light hours,” said Len, knowing he wasn’t being logical, and not really caring. “This one is over six hundred light years.” And I think I’ve been through enough new things in the last seventy-two hours to last a lifetime.
The End
About the Author
Doug Dandridge is an ex-professional student with degrees from Florida State University and The University of Alabama, and coursework in Psychology, Biology, Geology, Physics, Chemistry, Anthropology and Nursing. Doug has an interest in all of the fantastic, including science fiction, fantasy and horror, as well as all eras of military history. Doug is a prolific writer, having completed 24 novel length manuscripts. He is still seeking a major publishing contract, but has decided that self- publishing is the way to go at this time. His work can be found on Amazon. Doug lives with his five cats in Tallahassee, Florida, and currently has no social life, as he is too busy writing around his work schedule.
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The Favor of a review.
Reviews, rating and comments on Amazon about this novel are much appreciated. If you liked the story please leave a review that will help others to discover this novel. If you have comments about mistakes I might have made, posting them in a review will tell me what I need to do to grow as a writer and put a quality product out on the net. If you want to see these characters again (at least the ones that survived) a review will let me know I should consider writing in this particular Universe again.
I read all the reviews of my books and love to hear what my readers have to say. If you have a moment I would be grateful for your time.
Books by Doug Dandridge
Science Fiction
The Deep Dark Well Trilogy
The Deep Dark Well: An Adventure 40,000 years in the making. Pandora Latham was a Kuiper Belt Miner from Alabama. She’s used to landing on her feet, even when the next surface is through a wormhole, halfway across the Galaxy and 46,000 years in the Future. Pandora must discover the secret behind the end of civilization, and the enigma of the Immortal Watcher, the last survivor of the Empire that once ruled the stars. Her decisions will set the path for Galactic recovery, or a continuation down the roads of Barbarism.
To Well and Back: Pandora Latham is back, working Watcher’s plan to restore Galactic Civilization. But first she has to deal with the Xenophobes of the Nation of Humanity, back in the Supersystem with their sights set on making the Galaxy their own. Pandora is angry at the hyper religious Nation, and you don’t want to make a woman from Alabama angry.
The Exodus Series
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1: The introduction to the Exodus Universe. Two thousand years prior mankind fled from the Predatory Ca’cadasans, traveling a thousand years and ten thousand light years to a new home. Now the greatest power of their sector of space, things seem to be going well for the New Terran Empire. Until the enemy appears once again at the gates. And the years have not softened the aliens’ stance toward Humanity.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 2: The saga continues. The Ca’cadasans attack at the moment when the government of the Empire is at its most chaotic. There are other enemies as well, waiting for their chance to fall on the overwhelmed humans. And a young man with no ambition for power finds himself in the position he most dreads.
Other Scifi
Diamonds in the Sand: When a perfectly healthy scientist falls dead of an apparent heart attack, it is up to Sarasota Police Detective Lieutenant Gary Lariviere to find out what really happened. The scientist was working on Nanotechnology, a secret desired by everyone from the Government to the Mob. There are too many suspects, including the woman that Gary comes to love. The Army had made Gary better than human, but had they prepared him for the terrors that had been unleashed by the new technology?
The Scorpion: The Scorpion had been the world’s deadliest living terrorist. Kestral McMann had been in on the kill. Now The Scorpion is back as a mind upload, using clones to penetrate the tight security of an i
solationist United States. McMann is the only man who can stop him. But can McMann survive the threat of his own side, and the insane President who leads the Nation, in time to stop The Scorpion from plunging the Great Satan back into the Stone Age.
The Shadows of the Multiverse: Something has been periodically wiping intelligence from our Universe through the ages. It’s back, and it’s up to three unlikely heroes, the Captain of a Battle Cruiser, a Physicist turned Archeologist, and a Child, to save the intelligence of the Universe from Monsters from another Dimension. Can they learn to use the powers of their unusual Quantum Minds to defeat creatures that have been playing the game for billions of years?
Afterlife: What if you didn’t believe in the afterlife of the World’s Religions? And what if science offered you the alternative, survival within the Virtual World of a computer, where your mental abilities are magnified and you can do anything you want? And what if the World decided that your way was wrong, and declared war on you, meaning to destroy your reality? What would you do? Afterlife, a tale of survival at all costs.
We Are Death, Come For You: When aliens strike the Tau Ceti colony, humankind knows that something bad is on the way. They prepare as best they can, but will it be enough against superior technology? The aliens are death worshippers, and only the extinction of the human race will satisfy their evil intent. There are wonders of tech on the horizon, but can they be deployed in time? Or will humankind have to depend on the smallest of their techs to save them?
Fantasy
The Refuge Series
Refuge: The Arrival: Book 1: A nuclear war in Central Europe opens the gates between dimensions, sending millions of Earth Humans into a land of myth, archetypes and fantasy. The Evil Emperor of the Ellala Elves sees the humans as energy to fuel his transformation to immortality. But the humans have brought their own weapons with them, as well as a race of Demigods who will battle the fantastic armies of Refuge. The war is on, and only one side will ultimately survive.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 3: The Rising Storm Page 65